By Alex Gronke Record Staff Writer Published Saturday, March 15, 2003 Tracy Unified In a matter of days, a granite marker the size of a sport utility vehicle will be installed in front of Tracy Unified School District's main office. It is a few months late, but if district officials had their way, the sign never would have arrived at all. It wasn't the look that bothered them, it was the price. No one in the school district is exactly sure how much the monument cost, but estimates range from $60,000 to $90,000. Approved by the district board in 2000, the sign is a reminder of better times, when the school district had more money. But after a late-summer bid to stop delivery failed, district administrators moved to keep the granite slab from becoming an embarrassment. In December, the district's public information officer drafted a communications plan for school employees and board members to follow should dicey questions come their way. The plan came with instructions to pass all queries "without additional comment" to TUSD Superintendent Jim Franco, as well as four key messages, or talking points, about the sign. Tom Hawkins, a veteran school trustee, said that discovering last summer that the district was about to buy an expensive granite sign was bad news no matter what sort of spin was put on it. "The first time we heard about it, we were all upset," Hawkins said. The sign represents one of the finishing touches of Tracy Unified's 18-month-old, $5.7 million administration building, dubbed the Taj Mahal by some critics. School districts are required by law to have a sign in plain view for the benefit of first responders to an emergency. Franco said that in late summer, he put the brakes on the landscaping project, of which the sign was a part, to see if a cheaper means of alerting visitors to district headquarters existed. However, he discovered that to break the landscaping contract would have meant the district still would be responsible for 75 percent of the sign's price tag. Franco said that once he learned the district was locked into the contract, he didn't try to see if cheaper alternatives were available. The city of Tracy has begun putting up new signs at many of its public parks at a cost of $4,200 for every 4-foot-by-8-foot, 8,000 pound, precast-concrete sign. The memo put out by the school district in December said the sign was delayed because of bad weather and Franco's investigation into alternatives. But for several months, rumors suggesting another reason the sign was not erected proliferated in teacher's lounges. Last month, the Merrill F. West High School student newspaper published an article quoting a student who said the sign was delayed because district officials were worried an expensive granite sign would send the wrong message to voters during a $103 million school-bond campaign. Hawkins said he believes the bond measure for a new Tracy High School may have been part of the reason district officials tried to ditch the original plan. In an interview Thursday, Franco said the bond campaign did not play into his decision to look into alternatives in September. Tracy Unified ended up being the only San Joaquin County school district to lose a bond campaign on Election Day. Staycee Hall, the founder of a local government watchdog group and one of the school bond's major opponents, said she was pleased to learn that Franco tried to find a cheaper alternative. But she also said a $60,000 sign is the sort of purchase that fosters voter distrust. "They made the outside look good, but they didn't do anything to the inside. It's image, not quality," said Hall. Joan Feller, a Tracy school district trustee, said the district will draw fire from critics no matter what sort of monument is put in front of the administration building. But she said the adventure proved to be a learning experience. "Hopefully, we won't have a sign that expensive in the future. We'll ask the questions before we get to that point," said Feller. * To reach reporter Alex Gronke, phone 833-1142 or e-mail agronke@recordnet.com The sign * WHAT'S IT FOR: The sign is one of the finishing touches of Tracy Unified's $5.7 million administration building. * THE DELAY: Officials deny delaying the granite sign because they were worried an expensive sign would send the wrong message to voters during a $103 million school-bond campaign. A bid |
| Tracy Parents against MTYRE and YRE |
| Granite slab a sign of trouble District spent up to $90K in better times |